Through the Dark
by RurouniGochan
Summary: AU Sasuke is defeated before going to Sound and returned home, but at high price. Now Shikamaru, Naruto, and Sasuke have to answer to familes, friends, and themselves in a discovery of hope, courage, and the true meaning of strength.
1. Return

To my RK fans: please check my bio before leaving or asking questions about my other works. Thank-you. 

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei, whom I worship through the many perchases of merchanidise. 

**Note**: (MAJOR SPOILERS) This story is built on the speculated-AU (post-chapter 208) where Shikamaru and Naruto (and Akamaru) are the only survivors of the team that headed out to retrieve Sasuke. Lee and the sand-nins did not arrive to help; all sound-nins lost; Sasuke was defeated by Naruto and returned willingly to the village. 

**Through the Dark**

Chapter 1: Return 

The sky was bathed a foreboding blood-red by the setting sun, reflecting off the dark clouds that were crawling in from the east. They would overtake the village before nightfall, extinguishing the stars. There would be no twilight. 

"I see them!" Lee shouted, pointing out to a spot far down the trail from the top of the village gate. "They're back!" 

Sakura jolted out her half-dreaming state to clamber up from her slouched position against the wall to join Lee at the rail. Squinting as hard as she could, she tried to make out the five—no, the _six_ familiar forms of her comrades through the glare of the sunset and mental exhaustion. "I don't see them," she at last confessed. "Where are they?" 

"There," Lee said, shifting his weight against his crutches to adjust his index finger to the girl's eye level so she could better narrow the area. 

With eyes bloodshot from three days of no rest, Sakura managed to catch the movement emerging over the rim of the farthest hill. "I see them!" she gasped, relief washing over her strained mind in a light, warm wave. Lee began to laugh from similar effects. "I can see them! Do they have Sasuke-kun with them?" 

"They've got to!" 

Sakura whispered the same desperate prayer she'd been uttering since the morning before yesterday's. "Oh God, please. Please let Naruto keep his promise…" The movement grew closer into range, the shapes more distinguishable. 

"Can you see?!" she blurted out upon the first chance of possible recognition. 

Lee remained silent, his laughter having died off sometime before she realized it. She didn't ask again. By now she could see all she needed to know. 

There were only four standing. 

*** 

Three anbu were waiting at the hospital when they arrived, and before any protest could be uttered, Sasuke's unconscious form was whisked away in a flurry of white medical coats and animal masks. 

Two of Naruto's shadow clones rested the bodies of Kiba and Neji onto nearby cots as directed by some nurses while Shikamaru laid out Chouji. From the coat of the clone carrying Kiba, a small white dog was produced, and after a small discussion about there not being any veterinarians in the building, Akamaru was taken away to see what they could do. A doctor did a quick examination of the other bodies before declaring them dead on site for official records. The news was no surprise. The last stretch from the gate to the hospital had told everyone else all they needed to know. 

Treatment for the survivors took place after that, Sakura staying beside Naruto the entire time since Sasuke had been taken off to who knew where. Lee tagged along as well despite being caught by a medical-nin who knew he was supposed to still be resting in bed from recent surgery. One look at his friends however, as well as a promise from Lee to be careful, and the assistant let him go without further argument. There was a piteous atmosphere surrounding them that seemed to somber everyone. Even Naruto didn't fuss as he was put in a bed and covered with bandages. 

An uncomfortable silence lingered between all of them throughout the duration of this period, no one quite knowing what to say. There was a distinct feeling of too many questions and not enough answers; too many accusations and not enough fingers; too many tears and not enough shoulders. 

It was only after the doctors filed out and left them alone that someone finally found something to break the quiet. 

"Sakura-chan." Naruto's usually bright blue eyes looked upon her with a reserve that held back a floodgate of emotions. Her own emerald orbs wavered beneath his stare. "…Sasuke-kun is…" He racked his brain feverishly for the right words. "…Different now. He's still the same in some ways, but in others, he might be very different. A lot's happened, and it just might… take a while. Understand?" 

There were many things left unsaid in those words, Sakura could feel it. Tears welled up in her eyes as she understood, and she quickly ducked her head to hide them. 

He was protecting her again. Just like he always had been even long before she knew, this time telling her to safeguard her feelings for Sasuke. He was allowing her to hope while preparing her for reality. Things would not be easy but maybe, just maybe, they would be okay. 

"Sakura-chan?" 

"Yes," she answered quickly, wiping her eyes and giving him a warm smile. "I understand. …Thank you, Naruto. For…everything." 

He observed her face for a moment, as if trying to find something. At last, his lips curled up into an awkward, bittersweet, boyish grin. "Hey, I told you I'd bring him back, didn't I? Uzumaki Naruto always keeps his word!" Sakura giggled, and even Lee had to chortle when the boy struck the Nice Guy pose. Naruto quieted right after though. "But," he confessed softly, "I didn't do it alone." 

Lee said nothing, and the only sound in the room that followed were Sakura's giggles which hadn't stopped since they started. The boys watched her uncomfortably as she was currently bent over with them, neither one knowing if they should stop her or if they even really wanted to. The green-clad genin was finally about to gently ask what she found so amusing when the tears finally hit the floor. With hushed gasps they realized she was weeping. 

"Sakura-san…" 

"Sakura-chan…" 

"...I'm sorry..." Her voice was no louder than a whisper, high-pitched in her ragged breathing as she fought to speak between sobs. "I'm so sorry," she squeaked. 

The other two looked at each other quizzically. "What for Sakura?" Naruto pleaded, afraid he might have accidentally accused her of something. "None of you're your fault. What do you have to be sorry about?" 

Sakura just shook her head, unable to say. Instead of an explanation, all that poured out were more apologies and choked cries, tears rolling endlessly down her face which she buried into the her arms and the blankets of her teammate's bed. Tentatively he reached over to stroke her hair as means of comfort, discouraged by his helplessness. 

Lee looked away, feeling like an awkward third wheel with the same essence of uselessness. He occupied himself by searching for Shikamaru's bed. Despite only being battle-weary and injured by a broken finger, the doctors had still put the chuunin in a cot. Lee wondered if the boy hadn't said anything due to being asleep, but he soon made a different discovery. 

Turning the others he asked, "Where's Shikamaru?" 

Naruto looked up from his attentions to the girl and glanced about the room. Sakura managed to stifle her sobs long enough to do the same thing, but Naruto comprehend more than she did. Pulling aside the bed sheets, the boy climbed out of bed. 

"Wh-what are you doing?" the kunoichi demanded, scrubbing away at her wet cheeks. "You should still be resting!" 

Putting back on his jacket and headband that the doctors had removed for treatment, the blonde turned to his upperclassman. "Lee, take care of Sakura for me for a while, okay?" 

"Now wait a minute--!" 

"Why? Where are you going?" the boy asked. 

Headband tight, Naruto gave them another grin that lacked heart. "I've gotta go catch up with Shikamaru. He and I still have some business we need to take care of." 

*** 

"Mission report: Konoha shinobi, Nara Shikamaru, chuunin, reporting." 

Hokage's voice filled the small office, disgusted and grim—or perhaps that was just his imagination. "Proceed, Nara." 

"The objective of the mission, to return Uchiha Sasuke to the village, was accomplished. He is currently being treated in the hospital for his injuries while under heavy anbu observation." 

"I see. So the mission was successful then?" 

"…The objective was met. Yes." 

"That is not what I asked." 

A thick silence fell upon the room, pressing against its occupants who were already stifled by the tiny space left by scattered paperwork, scrolls, and clutter. Hokage waited patiently, watching Shikamaru's dark eyes as he weighed the question in his mind. 

He cleared his throat and then with strained authority spoke. "A few from our—_my_ team were lost in action. Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Neji, and Akimichi Chouji--" He then coughed or choked—it was hard to tell—but continued so quickly, one would doubt it even happened. "—gave their lives for the sake of our success. It was due to their courage and strength that we obtained our goal. To call this mission anything less than successful, would be dishonoring their sacrifice." 

Hokage paused. "I'm sorry," she said at last. 

"So am I." 

With a regarding look and nod, the woman turned down to her paperwork. "Your report will be recorded and the family members will be informed. Dismissed, Nara." 

He made no motion to leave. "With your permission, Hokage-sama," he stated carefully, "…I would like to be the one who informs their families." 

The Fire Shadow of Hidden Leaf looked surprised. "_You_?" she blurted rather unprofessionally, then after some composure tried again. "Why?" 

"I was the captain of this team. I was responsible for picking those who would be my men, leading them, and am thus responsible for their lives. As such, it is my duty to inform their relatives of their deaths." 

There was a heavy, contemplating pause. Shikamaru felt not just his mental strength, but his very adulthood being evaluated by her stare. 

"Alright," she finally consented, her eyes darting about with a lingering doubt or two. "Have someone go with you to each house however." 

"Someone has already requested to accompany me." 

She seemed to relax a little at this and he had a feeling it was because she knew whom he was speaking of. "Very well, request granted. You are dismissed if you have no further business." 

With a bob of his head that was more of a jerk than an actual nod, the young chuunin turned to leave. 

"Shikamaru." He looked back from halfway out the door. "You did an excellent job, you know." 

His eyes smoldered, wispy and grayed. "No, I don't," he rasped—and was gone. 

*** 

Naruto was already waiting outside Hokage's Tower when Shikamaru exited. "You ready?" he asked. 

"Do you really think it's it possible to be?" 

"This was your idea, you know." 

"And you're the one who volunteered to help." 

The blonde rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. "Ready or not, here we go then, eh?" 

"Yeah…" Shikamaru looked up at the cold blanket of rain clouds that rolled out the last of the daylight, wondering what he wouldn't give for a patch of crystal blue. With a slow exhale he turned back down to the village. "Here we go." 

~End chapter one~  
_to be continued..._

**Notes from the Authoress**: 

There will be no shounen-ai in this story, so any hopeful slashers can move on if they like. I'm a traditionalist myself; this means NaruHina, SasuSaku, and ShikaIno. My first Naruto fic. Let the new obsessions begin...

For those of you who know me, you'll know that I don't really write angst much, if at all. So why try now? *shrugs* I was in that kind of mood when this story struck me and it's the only way I can see of telling it. I also want to test my wings in this area and see what I can and definitely cannot write. Feel free to let me know. 

For those who don't know me, nice to meet you! I usually write humor fics so with any luck, I'll write a humorous Naruto story soon enough. Until then, I hope this manages to entertain you. 

Er...I have no idea when the next chapter will be out. My angsty writing mood comes and goes. Either I'll keep this one up, or a lighter piece of mine will appear. Whatever happens, it'll probably be Naruto goodness. (yay!) 

**Next Chapter**: The storm is not the only thing that breaks.   
  



	2. Harbinger, part 1

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei, whom I worship through the many perchases of merchanidise.

**Note**: This story is built on the speculated-AU where Shikamaru and Naruto (and Akamaru) are the only survivors of the team that headed out to retrieve Sasuke. Lee and the sand-nins did not arrive to help; all sound-nins lost; Sasuke was defeated by Naruto and returned willingly to the village.

**Through the Dark**

**Chapter 2: Harbinger**

The Inuzukas had not been home. While debating on whether or not to leave a message or contact information, they found out from a neighbor that the family had just left towards the hospital after hearing the team their son was on had returned. The two boys had looked at each other with open distress.

"What do we do now?" Naruto inquired.

After a long, contemplating pause, Shikamaru had shaken his head and shrugged, a deep frown set in his features. "It's not how we wanted it, but they'll find out. We should keep moving for now. If we wait it'll get late and we'll just be bothering everyone. …Not that we're going to be much welcome company anyway."

Without much choice, they had decided to meet Neji's family next. Getting an audience with the Hyuuga's Main House proved to be a bit more difficult without appointment, but after clearing it up with the people at the gate that they were of the team their young prodigy had been off with, a meeting was quickly arranged. The boys had soon found themselves seated before the Head of the clan and his youngest daughter. Naruto had no idea what the girl's name was, but oddly felt some relief that Hinata was not home.

"What business do you have with me?" the patriarch had asked with such prestigious authority, his voice snapped Naruto into attention and Shikamaru tightened his fists on reflex. Hyuuga Hiashi was not a friendly-looking man—this was easy enough to tell from a distance, but when you got up real close, it became uncomfortably obvious. From the boys' point of view, the room suddenly seemed much smaller.

"Hyuuga-sama," the young chuunin began after a purposeful cough, "my name is Nara Shikamaru. I was the commander for a recent mission Neji took part in. This is Uzumaki Naruto, another member of our squad. We come with… unfortunate news regarding your nephew."

The steely, white eyes of the Hyuuga narrowed with displeasure and a hint of something more dangerous that was fast rolling towards the surface. "And what 'unfortunate news' is that?"

There was an unexpected pause, almost as if things were moving in slow motion, allowing the minds of the two young shinobi to race with a thousand thoughts at once. Up until this point, both of them had known what it was they had set out to do but had yet to do it. Being so abruptly faced with the true weight of the responsibility, both balked from the sheer intimidation.

Naruto fidgeted on his knees, feeling useless to the situation not for the first (and surely not last) time that day. He turned to his old classmate apologetic and expectant. Shikamaru already knew he was the one meant to fill this role, but despite all mental preparation and practiced neutral expressions, a knot was beginning to form in the pit of his stomach. He had thought of a hundred different ways to tactfully and gracefully deliver the ill-bidden news, but each seemed to fall through under the judging and piercing gaze of their recipient.

Time was stretching back in to proper form and the length of silence was becoming inexcusable. Someone had to say something soon, lest something happen to someone sooner. With an audible swallow, Shikamaru decided to stick to his guns.

"In our mission, we encountered enemy ninja and were forced to engage in combat. Each of us fought with all possible skill and strategy." He briefly coughed but picked back up right away. "Despite our best efforts however… some were lost in battle. Yet each selfless sacrifice gained victory." Shikamaru paused to observe Hiashi's fists dig into his kimono. The chuunin could feel a heavy sweat on his own cheeks, yet his expression or tone never faltered as he continued and concluded. "Neji was one of those selfless sacrifices that led Konoha to another success, Hyuuga-sama. You nephew gave his life in a noble aid to our village."

No awkward pause of silence trailed afterward, but rather a sharp undertone that formed into the words, "Get out."

This seemed to shake Naruto out of his stupor as he blinked. "What?"

"Get _out_," the order came again with more force to its presence. Suddenly the boys were intently aware of the veins that were surfacing near Hiashi's eyes like the bubbles in a heated pot building into a steady boil. Behind him, even Hanabi shrank back towards the wall.

"B-but Hyuuga-san—" A tight clasp of a hand on his shoulder stopped whatever Naruto was trying to say as he glanced back to see Shikamaru giving him a look that told him to back down.

"Get **_out_**!" The head of the Hyuuga clan suddenly rose to his full height, towering over the two adolescent forms before him. Through an intense, piercing glare and clenched teeth, their final warning was hissed. "Get. Out. _Now_."

Naruto grunted, his words cut off as he was hauled to his feet and dragged by the neckline toward the door. There he was jerked to a sudden, discombobulating halt for a brief, forced, polite bow, then yanked out again down the hallway and into the courtyard. He finally regained his senses there and began complaining loudly while trying to twist his collar out of Shikamaru's grasp which seemed incredibly strong for someone so lazy. But the other boy didn't relinquish his grip until they were both some distance outside the main gate, and only there was the blonde allowed to rip himself free, stumbling back a few steps, glaring back at the grumpy chuunin.

"What was that for!" he shouted, pointing with open challenge.

"You moron. In case you didn't notice, that was one pissed Hyuuga we had on our hands."

"Well we shouldn't have just left him like that!"

"And what exactly should we have done then?"

Naruto stuttered uselessly, trying hard not to fall into silence. "I dunno… we should've… we can't just… I mean, he…"

"There's nothing more we can do, Naruto," he grumbled, trying to appear more annoyed at his companion than helpless. The blonde looked to the ground in an unwilling defeat, his voice low and nearly lost in the wind.

"…but he's in pain…"

Shikamaru stood still, the words lingering like the chill from a morning, sea breeze. "…I know," he said at last. Then he turned, putting the ominous thought they were both thinking into words. "Come on. We're not done yet."

Dragging his feet, Naruto followed in slow, automatic motions, driven more by instinct and duty than desire. They traveled at this pace half-way to their next destination before Shikamaru suddenly stopped, causing Naruto to bump into him in his dazed state, the collision bringing him to crisper awareness.

"Hey," he heartlessly protested before realizing Shikamaru was staring at something further up the road. Looking past him curiously, Naruto adjusted his eyesight to put an identity on the lone figure standing motionlessly in the storm's growing mist. It didn't take long to name the owner of such sad, pearl eyes.

"Hinata."

* * *

The dark clouds, pregnant with tempest, rumbled overhead. Standing alone in front of the Akimichi home, Shikamaru slightly regretted telling Naruto it was okay to stay behind with Hinata. _Any_ company would've helped his anxiety at this point, even Sasuke's. 

Well, maybe not Sasuke's. Although if he allowed himself to admit that there was anyone who could take away most of the blame, it was Uchiha.

The rookie chuunin took a deep breath, letting the rain-scented air sink into his skin, calming his nerves down to a degree that wasn't bordering on bed-wetting fright. Various shinobi conduct rules ran through his mind as he steeled whatever courage he had, and knocked on the door. When Choumaru's broad form appeared in the entry, welcoming him in with a boisterous sort of cheer, Shikamaru was struck with the realization that he'd never actually been hated before. Disliked and looked over, sure, but never actually loathed.

He could tell he wasn't going to like it.

"You don't look so well. When's the last time you slept?" the man asked, his voice drifting across an unidentified distance. They'd moved into the family room which was bigger than what you'd find in most other homes, but with the Akimichi clan, nearly everything had to be bigger. They sat across from each other about four feet apart on large, brightly colored square pillows.

"Haven't really slept since the morning before yesterday," Shikamaru obligingly replied, contemplating if he'd ever sleep again.

"Really? Busy with a mission then?"

"Yeah."

A chuckle. "Must be rough on _you_."

"…Yeah."

The conversation took a sudden drop, neither quite knowing what to say after that. Shikamaru wished he'd had a speech of some kind prepared, but on this occasion he'd found it wholly inappropriate. The family of his best friend deserved to know their son was worth more than some rehearsed tune sung by a trained canary.

The Akimichi patriarch cleared his throat, a loud, demanding sound in their verbal pause. "So what brings you here today, Shikamaru? Chouji is not here right now, although last I hear I think he was with you. I've just arrived home from a mission myself so I don't know all the details. Is there any other purpose of your visit?"

The boy clenched his hands to keep them from shaking, the pain issuing from his injured hand strangely soothing. Throat dry, Shikamaru began, tripping and wrestling with the right words, trying to find the best way to tell this man before him that his son was dead.

Outside, the storm broke.

End chapter two  
_to be continued...

* * *

_

**Notes from the Authoress**:

I've been working on this on and off for the past two years too. I've actually had this part done for a while, it just needed sprucing up. But also, it was supposed to be part of a bigger section that would have led it to be at least 10 pages. After some debate, I've finally decided to post this finished part as another chapter, to add its other half at another time.

As for when that time will _be_... is a very good question. I may at least post one more chapter of this story up, but from there, it may go on an indefinite hiatus. The story has lost a bit of my attention, although I still love working on it when I'm angsting. Reguadless, this one is also falling by the wayside.

I apologize if Hiashi seemed OOC, but an explaination was (and perhaps may even still be) provided for his reaction. I hope you'll just accept it as is for the time being.

**Next Chapter**: Courage is only really tested by truth--both the bearing and endurance thereof.


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